Till We Run Out Of Road
by Holly Gilmore
Summary: Sequel to 'Heart and Shoulder'. -- Complete --
1. Suddenly Not So Funny

** Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of Gilmore Girls. If I were that all powerful then Jess would be staying put! So, in summation... _Please_ don't sue me!**

Luke looked up from wiping down the counter in the diner. Jess, Rory and Lorelai sat at the table by the window. They were the only other people in the diner besides him. 

He smiled at them as he walked over and turned the 'Open' sign to 'Closed'. 

Loreali finished the last drop of coffee in her cup and held it in the air. 

"I loooooooove you!" She sang at Luke. 

Luke rolled his eyes and walked back to the counter to retrieve the coffee pot. 

"Anyone else want anything, kitchen's closing." He said as he refilled Lorelai's cup. 

"Could I get some fries?" Asked Jess. 

"Oooh, can I share?" Rory smiled at him. 

"Sure." He said, kissing her lightly. 

Luke smiled again and walked away. 

"So anyway, as I was saying, there's this rabbit…" Started Lorelai, giggling to herself. "…and…" 

"And the rabbit says, 'How about that schnitzel!'." Sighed Rory, looking at Jess to see his reaction. 

"Uh! You totally ruined my joke!" Pouted Lorelai. 

"I don't get it." Frowned Jess, as he looked from Lorelai to Rory in confusion. 

"Don't worry about it, there's nothing to get." Smiled Rory. 

"How about that schnitzel is a great punch line, if used appropriately!" Said Lorelai. 

"It's not a punch line." Rory said, shaking her head. 

"Ah, what would you know, you're young and naïve." 

"And you're old and insane, so I guess we both have issues." Smiled Rory sweetly. 

"I resent that!" 

"I thought you might." 

Jess watched them arguing and smiled to himself. 

He had been in Stars Hollow for almost 4 months. He still didn't feel like he was a small town kind of guy, but he was getting used to living like one. 

Rory was the one thing that made it bearable, but Lorelai had definitely taken a liking to him since he arrived. He knew it was because Rory had been her old self since he moved to town, but he also knew that he and Lorelai had some things in common too. 

Luke hadn't known what to do with him at first. He had no children of his own, so he was at a loss. Lorelai had helped out there also. She calmed him down when he panicked, and gave him rational alternatives to his irrational ideas. 

Hearing the phone ringing and his name being said, he was pulled away from his thoughts. 

"What?" 

"I said, don't you agree that, 'How about that schnitzel!', is a great punch line?" asked Lorelai. 

He looked at her pleading eyes, and then looked over at Rory, who was pleading just as hard. 

"I uh… don't think I should comment." He smiled. 

"Wussy." Said Lorelai, rolling her eyes. "You'll never marry my daughter, I'm telling you now!" She teased, shaking her finger at him. "She needs a good strong man who stands up for what he believes in." 

"Yeah, and you need a straight jacket and a few good strong men in a white coats." Smiled Rory. 

Lorelai smiled and scrunched her nose up at Rory, and Rory did the same back at her. She looked at her watch and sighed. 

"Ok missy, time to get home. You have school tomorrow." 

"But… the fries!" Pouted Rory. 

"Luke, what's taking so long?!" Lorelai shouted at Luke, who was deep in conversation on the phone, he held up his hand, requesting that they didn't interrupt. 

"You can't do that." Said Luke. "I don't care, it's not right. You're being selfish. This is just like you! You're only ever thinking about yourself, screw everyone else, right?!" He looked angry. 

"That'd be mommy." Said Jess, faking a big smile. 

"How do you know." Frowned Lorelai. 

"I heard the word's 'you're being selfish' and 'you're only ever thinking about yourself'. I put two and two together." He sighed, Rory put her arm around him. 

"Yeah well, I'll tell him, but if he doesn't want to I'm not making him. Yeah, yeah you do that!" Said Luke, slamming the phone down. He looked over at Jess. 

"So? What's she done this time?" He asked, with an eyebrow raised. 

"She uh… she just broke up with that… Barry guy." He said. 

"Wow, and here's me thinking that was for life." Said Jess sarcastically. 

"Yeah, well, he's gone. And she's lonely." 

"Poor Baby." Sighed Lorelai. 

"She doesn't wanna' spend the holidays alone." Said Luke, looking at the floor. 

"She wants you to go home for Christmas?" Asked Rory, looking sad. "I thought you were spending Christmas with us." 

Jess was still looking at Luke, who was trying his best not to make eye contact with any of them. 

"She doesn't want me to go home for the holidays, does she?" He asked. 

"No… she wants you to go home for good." Sighed Luke. 

"Are you kidding me?" Asked Lorelai. 

"No." Said Luke. 

"Are you kidding me?" 

"No." He repeated. 

"If I ask a third time, do you think the outcome will be different?" She asked. 

"No." 

"But… she can't make you go." Said Rory, hugging Jess tighter. "Can she?" She asked Lorelai. 

Lorelai looked at Luke. 

"Pretty much. I mean… she's his mother." He said. 

"If you use the term 'mother' loosely." Sneered Jess. 

"Anyway… she can. He's not 18 yet and until he is, she can have as many insane episodes as she wants, and they can affect him as she pleases." 

"I'd call that child abuse." Said Lorelai. 

"I'd call that my sister." Sighed Luke. "She wants him home for Christmas, or she's coming here to get him." 

"Oh, joy." Laughed Jess. 

"Jess, this is serious." Said Luke. 

"Yeah, well, I'd like to see her force me to do anything." He said, just as seriously. 

"She forced you to come here." Sighed Lorelai. 

"Yeah well, part of me was glad to be getting away from her. But…" He looked at Rory. "I'm not going anywhere this time." 

"Jess…" 

"Luke, I mean it. I'm not. I've spent my whole life watching people come running when she snaps her fingers. I'm not gonna' be one of those people." He said, shaking his head. "She can keep snapping her fingers until she gets down to bone if she wants to. And then maybe I'll take her a band-aid or something, but…" He said, still not taking it seriously. 

"Jess, if she wants you back in New York, she'll get her way. She can… call any number of people to have you sent back… I'm sure." Said Lorelai sympathetically. 

"I'm betting she can have me arrested if I don't send you back or if I try and stop her taking you." Said Luke and Lorelai nodded in agreement. 

"Then don't stop her. I just won't go." 

"I'm betting she can have the police escort you." Said Lorelai. 

"Seriously?" Asked Rory. 

"I don't know, babe. Maybe." Said Lorelai, reaching across the table and squeezing Rory's hand. 

Jess sighed deeply, he could feel them all watching him. 

He got up, walked over to the phone and started dialing. There was a pause while he waited for Liz to pick up. 

"Hey." He said. "Yeah, he told me. No… I'm happy here. I'm sorry to hear that but… Look… you're the one who sent me here, ok, so don't …. No, I don't want to come back. You can try, but you won't succeed! I'm not talking back to you, I'm telling you, you're not taking me back to New York. No! Yeah, good luck with that!" He shouted into the phone before slamming it down just as Luke had. 

"Well, I know what I'm getting you for Christmas." Said Lorelai, nodding towards the phone. Luke smiled softly at her attempts to lighten his mood. 

Jess stood for a minute, taking deep breaths. 

"God, Damnit!" He yelled, startling them all. 

Rory got up and went over to him. 

"Hey." She said softly, reaching up and touching his cheek with her hand. 

His features softened when she touched him. He looked at her. 

"It's ok." She said reassuringly, kissing him. He hugged her. 

"Poor kid." Said Lorelai quietly as Luke sat beside her. 

"I know. He didn't ask to get a whack job for a mother." Sighed Luke and they watched the affection between Rory and Jess. 

"There isn't anything we can do?" Asked Lorelai. 

"I don't know. I hope so…" 

Luke looked at Lorelai. 

"You ok?" She asked softly. 

"I'm fine. I just feel bad for the guy." Lorelai nodded. 

She planted a small kiss on Luke's cheek and then used her thumb to rub away any traces of lipstick. 

"What was that for?" He smiled. 

"'Cos…" She grinned at him. 

"That's not a reason." 

"I don't need one." She smiled, doing it again on the other cheek. 

"You're incorrigible, you know that?" 

"Fully aware and totally proud! Now, kiss!" She said, pointing at her lips. 

"You can't command…" 

She placed her hands on his cheeks and pulled him towards her, forcing him to kiss her. 

"Thank You!" She grinned. He smiled and shook his head. 

"What have I gotten myself into?" He asked and she winked at him. 

"Rory… hun…" Started Lorelai, hating to break up the embrace she and Jess so obviously needed. 

"I know… I'm coming." She sighed, letting go of Jess slowly. "I'll see you tomorrow." She said quietly to him. He nodded and kissed her. 

"Bye." He said, forcing a smile and half waving to Lorelai. 

"Bye." She smiled supportively at him as she opened the door. "See ya' bright and early." She said, kissing Luke one last time. 

"If 9am is bright and early." He said, rolling his eyes. 

"It is." She stated, not allowing him to argue, 

"Ok, bright and early." He smiled at her, holding the door open so she and Rory could leave. 

Lorelai put and arm around Rory and they left. Luke looked over at Jess who was still standing in the same spot. He didn't know what to say, so he didn't say anything at all.


	2. Life as a Gilmore

** Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of Gilmore Girls. If I were that all powerful then Jess would be staying put! So, in summation... _Please_ don't sue me!**

Rory lay in bed thinking about everything that had happened that evening. She had been so happy, and then it had all come crashing down around her. She knew Jess was feeling worse than she was, even though that was incomprehensible to her. 

She turned when she heard a small tapping sound on her window. She climbed out of bed and looked. Jess was outside. 

She smiled and pulled on her bathrobe, then she opened the window. 

"Hey." She said quietly. 

"Hi. Did I wake you?" 

"Nope… I couldn't sleep." She sighed. 

"Me either. I'm really sorry." 

"For what?" She frowned. 

"My mother." He said and she smiled softly. 

"Not something you get to apologize for. Although you do get my deepest sympathy." 

"Thanks." 

"So… what are we going to do about all this?" She asked, kneeling next to the window. 

"We're going to… ignore her for as long as possible and then, when she gets really annoying, we gag her and tie her to a chair." He said. 

Rory smiled and kissed him lightly. 

"I don't know that it'll work." She said. 

"I'm sure I'll have Luke's full support." 

"You'll have mine too, but still… you might want a plan B." 

"Oh, I got one of them too." He nodded. 

"Do tell." 

"We run screaming." He smiled. 

"Now, that sounds workable!" She grinned and he kissed her. 

"I'm not gonna' lose you." He said seriously. 

"No, you're not." She smiled softly. 

"I'm glad we agree." 

"Don't we always?" She frowned. 

"No… there was that whole Ernest Hemingway thing…" He said, shaking his head. 

"Oh yeah, that was when you went insane." She smiled. 

"Yeah, and you read Ayn Rand and joined me." He teased. 

"You didn't even give 'Atlas Shrugged' a chance." She pouted. 

"That's because it looked longer than 'The Fountainhead' which, unfortunately, I did give a chance." 

She glared playfully at him. 

"I love you." He said, giving her his best puppy eyes. She smiled and kissed him. 

"I love you too. You and your bad choices in reading material." 

"Aren't you special?" He smiled, tucking a piece of loose hair behind her ear. 

"If you say I am." She grinned. 

"I say you are." He nodded. 

*****

"I know." Yawned Rory, as she guided Lorelai across the street. 

"I blame you." Said Lorelai, her eyes only half open. 

"I know." Sighed Rory. 

"You and that boyfriend of yours and your non stop drama…" She yawned. 

"Blame is justified." Agreed Rory, opening the door to Luke's and pushing Lorelai inside. 

"Hey… what happened to you?" Smirked Luke. 

"Coffee now, questions later." She grumbled, slouching in a chair. 

"Of course, forgive my insolence." He said, doing a mini bow and getting two coffee cups. 

"We'll see. It may require a Danish." She said, sticking her bottom lip out at him. 

"Put that away before someone trips up on it." He smiled as he placed her coffee and Danish in front of her. 

"I'll consider it if I can have a muffin also…" She said, looking up at him and batting her eyelids. 

"Fine. If you retract that lip I'll do anything." 

"Anything?" She grinned mischeiviously. 

"Uh oh, you gone done it now!" Yawned Rory, sipping Lorelai's coffee. 

"I didn't mean 'anything'…" Started Luke. 

"You said it…" Smiled Lorelai. 

"I say a lot of things I don't mean." He said. "Like the day you said 'Hey Luke, wanna make out?' and I said, 'Sure Lorelai, that sounds smart and healthy.'" 

Rory raised an eyebrow at Lorelai. 

"That is sooooo no how it went." She said, shaking her head at her daughter. 

"I believe you." Rory smirked. 

"He asked me if I wanted to make out!" Protested Lorelai. 

"Yeah, 'cos that sounds like something I would do." Luke rolled his eyes and looked at Rory who nodded in agreement with him. 

"Oh fine, gang up on me." Said Lorelai, taking her coffee back from Rory. "He took advantage and no one believes me, that's just great." She muttered to herself. 

Rory giggled at her mother's dramatics. Luke kissed Lorelai on the top of her head. 

"All better now?" He asked. 

"I don't know… got any pancakes back there?" She asked. 

"If I say yes will you stop pouting?" 

"If I stop pouting will there be chocolate chips in them?" She grinned. 

He pretended to look irritated as he walked away, but Rory and Lorelai both knew he loved their daily debates. 

"Hey Luke, where's Jess?" Asked Rory. 

"Uh… he's upstairs talking on the phone with his mom." Sighed Luke. 

"Can I go up?" She asked. 

"Sure, sure." He smiled slightly. "Here…" He handed her a Danish as she passed him. 

"Thanks." She smiled, pushing the curtain back and heading up to the apartment. 

As she reached the top of the stairs she heard Jess's voice. She approached the door slowly. He didn't sound angry or upset, just frustrated. 

"Doesn't it matter to you? I understand that, but it's not my fault. I know. But you sent me here, mom. And you can't just demand that I come home again now…" 

Rory opened the door slowly and stepped inside. Jess looked up and smiled a little when he saw her. 

"Yes, it does matter. I don't want to come back. I started over here… I actually like it. I know, but…" He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "Yeah. I understand that too, but… Are you even listening to what I have to say?" He said, his voice rising slowly. 

Rory sat beside him and picked off a small piece of her Danish. 

"Why can't you just be alone? Or… go stay with a friend… Because it's not my fault you're alone, mom! No… Why do we all have to suffer just so you can be happy? No, that's not what being a family is about!" He rubbed his forehead. 

Rory placed her hand on his arm supportively. 

"Yeah, well, I can't talk to you right now either." He said, hanging up. 

"She's sticking with her original idea, huh?" Sighed Rory. 

"Yeah." 

"Someone should really tell her that a son is for life, not just for Christmas!" Smiled Rory gently. 

Jess looked up at her and smiled. 

"I thought that was puppies." 

"I think it applies here too." She nodded. 

"You're trying to cheer my up?" He asked. 

"Nope, I wouldn't do something like that." 

"Of course you wouldn't. I was thinking about thoughtful and sensitive Rory." He smiled 

"I hate her." Said Rory, rolling her eyes. 

"Come here." He said quietly, pulling her into a kiss. 

They sat there for a minute, just kissing and being with one another. 

"You can't have my Danish." Rory grinned. 

"I don't want your Danish." He smiled, kissing her again. 

"What's wrong with my Danish?" 

"Nothing. I'm just not hungry." He laughed. 

"Oh… ok." She shrugged and continued kissing him. 

"You're in and odd mood today." He observed. 

"I'm operating on 3 hours of sleep." 

"Ah, well, that explains it." He smiled. 

"We're going to be ok, right?" She sighed. 

"I hope so. I mean… I don't plan on letting anything break us up." 

"But… what if you have to leave? Before, when we were apart… we had to just be friends." 

"It's different this time." He said, taking her hand in his. She nodded. 

He rested back on the couch and pulled her down with him, so her head was resting against his chest. She closed her eyes and smiled. He held her. 

*****

Luke grabbed Lorelai's hands and she squirmed in her chair. 

"Let me go!" She groaned. 

"You're going to get us all kicked out." He said, trying to stay serious. 

"It's worth it!" She said, pleading with him. 

"I can't let you do it!" He said, struggling to hold her. 

"Fine!" She looked over at Rory and Jess who both grinned. 

"Head's up." Jess smiled at Rory, wiggling his eyebrows at her playfully. 

"Target established." Said Rory, closing one eye and looking at the back of Kirk's head with the other. 

"Ready. Aim. Fire!" Called Lorelai. 

Rory and Jess reached into the bucket of popcorn they were sharing and started pelting Kirk with it. 

"Hey!" Kirk turned around, swatting the popcorn away. He glared at Lorelai and Luke. "I suggest you learn to control your offspring before I call the manager." 

"He's nothing to do with me." Said Luke, pointing at Jess. 

"Yeah, and she… she isn't my daughter." Said Lorelai, shaking her head. 

"Wow… I just got disowned." Said Rory, looking a little lost.

After a moment of consideration Rory's expression turned to a playful glare as she pulled Jess out of his seat and started to leave, taking that popcorn and junior mints with her. Her actions caught Lorelai's attention almost instantly.

"Hey, hey!" Protested Lorelai. 

Rory turned around and frowned at Lorelai. 

"Can I help you, strange lady." She smiled. 

Lorelai pouted and looked at Luke. 

"My daughter's pretending she doesn't know me." 

"That'd be because you disowned her." He said, letting go of her hands. 

"I was protecting my reputation." 

"I'm sure she understands." Smiled Luke. 

"Can I have the gummy bears?" Rory asked. 

"Can I be your mommy?" Lorelai said, holding the gummy bears away from Rory while she waited for an answer. 

"Ok." Smiled Rory. Lorelai threw the bag to her. 

"Ok." She smiled back. 

"Can you please be quiet? The movie is about to start." Said Kirk. 

"I'll try, but I'm not promising anything." Said Lorelai. "When the lights go out this guy turns into an animal!" She said, patting Luke on the chest. 

Jess cringed in disgust and Rory started to throw popcorn in Lorelai's general direction.

Luke rolled his eyes. He'd known what he was getting into when he and Lorelai got together, but he was still sometimes left dumbfounded by her actions. He didn't understand how, but that was how it worked. 

*****

After the movie, they all walked back to the Gilmore's house together. 

"That sucked." Said Luke. 

"I don't think I ever heard you say that about something before." Frowned Lorelai. 

"It really did suck." Sighed Rory. "I don't know how it got 4 stars." 

Jess looked at her and shook his head in disbelief. 

"What?" She asked. 

"It got 4 stars on the back of an Al's Pancake World menu." He laughed. 

"Last time I trust him for anything but food." Said Lorelai. 

"I don't even trust him with food." Said Luke. "I don't trust him with anything. The guy owns a restaurant called 'Al's Pancake World', and he doesn't sell pancakes. It's deception from the word go." 

"I think we should storm the building in protest." Said Lorelai. 

"I'm too tired." Sighed Rory, resting her head on Jess's shoulder as they walked. 

Jess smiled as he pulled Rory closer. He watched Lorelai and Luke argue a little more about the movie and Al's Pancake World. 

He couldn't imagine having to leave it behind to return to New York. He looked down at Rory and wondered what would happen to her if they couldn't change Liz's mind. It scared him.


	3. Whatever It Takes

** Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of Gilmore Girls. If I were that all powerful then Jess would be staying put! So, in summation... _Please_ don't sue me!**

Luke opened the apartment door and he and Jess stepped inside. Jess headed for the couch and sat down. 

"How do they do it?" Sighed Luke rubbing his tired eyes. 

"It's called coffee." Said Jess, resting his head back and closing his eyes. 

"It's not natural. I've seen coffee drinkers. I run a diner. But they… they are something else." He laughed. "Did you see how many sour patch kids Lorelai ate?" 

"Yeah, half as many gummy bears as Rory ate." Smiled Jess. 

Luke nodded and stretched. His eyes fell on the answering machine. 

"Can you… reach over and press the play button on the machine?" He asked, seeing that Jess was nearer. 

"Uh… sure." Sighed Jess, reaching with one hand and failing, and then trying the other one. 

There was a beep and then the message. 

"Jess? Luke? It's Liz. I know you've both been trying to avoid my calls, and I have to say I never thought my own brother would do this to me." 

Luke shook his head at the machine. 

"Anyway, I want you home, Jess. By this weekend. If you're not on a bus home by Friday evening then you can bet your ass I'll be on one Saturday Morning. I am your mother, and you're going to do as I say." 

There was another beep and the message was over. Luke looked at Jess for a reaction. 

"Tell me there's something we can do to stop her." He sighed. 

"I… don't think there is, Jess." Said Luke, sitting beside him. 

"I can't leave Rory." 

"I know." 

"So… what do I do?" He asked, looking at Luke. 

Luke rested his head in his hands. He didn't know what to tell him to do. 

"I guess… you do whatever it takes." He said. 

"Couldn't get any vaguer, huh?" Jess smiled slightly. 

"Possibly, if I weren't so tired." 

"Whatever it takes?" Jess asked. 

"You do what you have to." Nodded Luke, standing up and patting Jess on the shoulder lightly. 

"Ok then." Said Jess, too softly for Luke to hear. 

*****

Jess approached the Gilmore's front porch, not knowing exactly how to act around Rory while he was thinking the way he was. He took a deep breath and knocked on the door. 

Lorelai flung the door open and smiled widely at him. 

"Hey! Come in, come in!" She said, grabbing the sleeve of his jacket and pulling him inside. 

"Uh… hi." He laughed as she ran back into the living room and jumped on the couch. "What's going on?" He frowned. 

"Well, I don't know. I just was bored, so I switched onto this show… I think it's a soap opera. Anyway, she loves him, but he's married to her sister, only he doesn't know that his wife is also his sister, and she doesn't know that her sisters husband is also her brother." Said Lorelai pointing between the two characters sharing a passionate embrace on the screen. 

"Sounds fun and healthy to me." He laughed. "Rory here?" 

"Yeah, bedroom, go right ahead." She said, waving him away with her hand, unable to turn away from the screen. 

Jess shook his head and smiled at how engrossed in the TV show Lorelai was. 

He headed for Rory's bedroom and opened the door slowly. 

"Hey baby, hey baby, hey!" She sang, dancing in place with her eyes closed and her headphones on. 

Jess smiled and watched for a minute. He felt guilty for not letting her know he was there, but he'd never seen her dancing before and, as bad as it was, he was enjoying it too much to stop her. 

He walked over to her slowly and took her headphones off. 

"Hey baby." He smiled. 

Rory's face turned several shades of red as she stared at him. 

"How much did you see?" She cringed. 

"Not much." He lied. "Just enough to know that you would have made a great 'Fly Girl'." 

"I can't believe you just saw that." She said, mock crying and covering her face with her hands. 

"Me either." He smiled, putting his arms around her. "I loved the shimmy though. Nice touch." He said playfully. 

"The shimmy… that was like… 3 minutes ago!" She groaned. 

"Yeah, it was right between the mashing of the potato and the shaking of the tail feather." He smiled and she hit him playfully. 

"It's not funny. Now you have to humiliate yourself to make us even." She declared. 

"I don't see that happening anytime in the near future." 

"Do something stupid, dance or… I don't know… something." She pouted. 

"You were cute. You don't have to be embarrassed." He smiled, kissing her. 

"Yes I do." She sighed, burying her face in his shirt. "I shimmied, and you saw it!" She said in horror. 

"It was a dream come true." 

"It's so not funny!" She said, trying not to laugh. 

"But look on the bright side, now you can dance around all you want and know that I've already seen it, so you don't have to hide it from me." He said reassuringly. 

"I do. I really do." She laughed, sitting on her bed and putting her head back in her hands. 

He sat next to her and put his arm around her. 

"I love you. You don't have to be so embarrassed about something like this." 

She looked up at him. 

"But you saw me dancing. Really badly! I can do better!" 

"Show me?" He smiled playfully. 

"In your dreams." 

"Each and every night." He teased, kissing her on the forehead. 

"So, what are you doing here?" She asked. 

"I came for the entertainment. I hear you're doing lap dances later, I thought I'd get here early." 

"Stop it!" She groaned, flopping backwards on the bed. 

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I promise, no more dancing jokes." He said seriously as he lay down beside her. 

"So… why are you here?" 

"I uh…" He couldn't tell her. He knew he would have to soon, but the timing wasn't anywhere near right. "I um… just wanted to see you." He said, forcing a smile that looked sincere enough to fool her. 

She smiled at him and kissed him. He put his arms around her again and closed his eyes as she snuggled up to him. 

*****

Rory opened one eye and then the other. It was still dark, so why was Lorelai waking her up. Her eyes focused properly and she realized that it wasn't Lorelai it was Jess. 

She sat up slowly. 

"Jess… what's going on?" She asked, looking at the alarm clock beside her bed. She picked it up and showed it to him. "It's 2am." 

"Yeah, I'm late." He said quietly, kneeling beside her bed. 

"Late… for what?" She frowned. 

"Rory…" He took hold of her hand and searched for the right words. "There isn't anything we can do to stop my mom taking me back to New York." He sighed. 

"You don't know that. Maybe when she gets here tomorrow and sees how happy you are then she'll listen to us." Nodded Rory, still trying to think positively. 

"You don't know my mom. She's going to stick to her guns because she has to be right. Even if she wants to give in, she won't." He said. 

"But…" Rory started to protest. 

"I'm leaving." He said. 

"You're what? You're not even going to try and stop it?" She said, tears coming to her eyes. 

"No… that's not what I mean. I'm leaving Stars Hollow. I'm getting away from here before she gets here." He explained quietly. "And I want you to come with me." 

"You want me to… run away with you?" She asked. 

"Yeah." 

"Tonight?" She frowned. 

"Yes. I'm sorry Rory, I can't think of anything else." 

Rory was stunned. She looked around her room, wondering if she was dreaming, but the serious look of Jess's face was all too real. 

"I don't… I don't know, Jess." She sighed, gripping his hand tightly. "I love you. So much. But…" She shook her head slightly. "What about my mom… and… ?" 

"I know. It's a lot to ask of you. And if you say no, then I won't go, I'll just wait for Liz to arrive and I'll go back to New York. But if you say yes, then we'll go and we'll stay away until I'm 18." 

"That's 6 months." She said, wiping tears from her eyes. 

"I know." He said apologetically. "I just… I don't want to be without you." 

"I don't want to be without you either." Said Rory, looking him in the eyes. "I don't think I know how to be without you anymore." 

Jess got up onto the bed and hugged her tightly. He felt awful for asking her to leave everything she knew behind. But he didn't know what else they could do to stay together. 

"How…" She pulled back and looked at him. "Do you have any money?" 

"A little, not a lot. But enough for… a while." He sighed and she nodded. 

She pushed the sheets away and started getting out of bed. 

"Are you… coming with me?" He asked, trying not to sound as hopeful as he was. 

Rory didn't answer him. She pulled a bag down from the top of her wardrobe and started filling it with clothes. She looked around the room, trying to think of things she needed, or wanted. 

She picked up a picture from her desk, of she and her mother. 

Jess stayed seated on the bed, just watching her. He was overcome with astonishment. He'd hoped she'd come with him, but he hadn't imagined how it would feel. To have someone love him so much that they'd give up everything they knew for him. Leave their life behind. He was awestruck. 

He got up and walked over to her. 

"What do I need…? I can't think!" She said anxiously. 

Jess pulled her into a kiss, it was passionate and strong and consuming. But it seemed to calm them both, centering them and reminding them why they were doing what they were about to do. 

They rested their foreheads against each other, they were both breathing fast. 

"Ok… now… what else do you need?" He asked softly. 

Rory looked around the room again. 

"Oh, my jacket and purse… they're in the hall." She said quietly. "I'll be right back." 

Jess watched her sneak out of her room. He hoped that she didn't wake Lorelai, although the part of him that felt bad about their situation hoped she did. 

She came back into the room and closed the door. 

"Ok, that's it." She sighed. 

"You're sure?" 

"Anything I didn't get I don't need badly enough." She shrugged and he nodded. 

He picked up her bag and carried it over to the window, placing it outside on the porch. He climbed through the window and waited for her. 

Rory walked over to her desk and grabbed a pen and some paper. She quickly wrote out a note for Lorelai, folded it neatly and placed it on her pillow. 

"Bye room." She said sadly, trying not to cry. 

She headed over to the window and Jess steadied her as she climbed through it. 

They hurried across the front lawn in the darkness. 

"What's that?" Rory stopped and frowned. 

"It's uh… Luke's pickup." Said Jess. 

"You stole his truck?" 

"I borrowed. There's a difference." 

"Jess…" She sighed uncertainly. 

"He told me to do whatever it took to stay with you. So I am." 

"But if we take the pickup then all they have to do to find us is call the cops and give them the plate numbers." 

"I left him a note… I asked him not to do that." 

"You think that'll work?" Frowned Rory as Jess placed her bag with his behind the seats. 

"I think he cares about us both too much to do anything to hurt us." 

Rory ran her hand through her hair and looked at Jess. She knew he was right about Luke. He wouldn't call the police. She wasn't so sure about Lorelai and Liz. 

"Ok… then let's go." She smiled slightly, getting in the passenger side. 

Jess got in the drivers side and turned the key in the ignition. The engine started and broke the silence. He looked over at Rory. 

"Are you sure about this?" He asked. 

"No." She said, with a small nervous laugh. "But I'm sure I want to be with you… and if this is the only way…" 

He nodded, understanding. 

"Here…" She smiled softly, taking his hand and placing it in the center of her chest. "Feel that?" 

He let his hand rest where she had placed it and after a moment a smile crept onto his lips. Her heart was racing. 

"Yeah. I feel it." 

"Do you feel… excited?" She asked coyly. 

"Excited how?" He frowned. 

"I mean… I'm sad that we're leaving." She said, looking out of the window at her house and Babette's. "But… it's like… I can't help being excited. Partly because it's just so not like me, and it's something I shouldn't be doing but… I want to. And partly because it feels like some kind of adventure." She said, not really understanding her own feelings. 

"I know." He nodded, hoping she'd still feel as positive about it all later. 

He pulled away from the Gilmore's house and onto the road. They drove out past Luke's, down Main street. 

Rory looked out of her window as they passed the 'Welcome To Stars Hollow' sign. 

She knew she was doing the right thing. It was something she hadn't needed to think over and analyze. It was something she felt, something she instinctively knew. She had to be with him. 

"Where to?" He asked, glancing at her for a moment. 

"You don't know?" She smiled slightly. 

"Uh… no. I only planned this far. I think there's an road atlas or a map or something in the glove compartment." He said. 

Jess reached across and banged the palm of his hand against it. It popped open. 

"Ok… north or south?" She asked, pulling the road atlas out and opening it. "We could go to Canada!" 

"Got your passport?" He smiled. 

"Nope…" She said, looking at the next page. "Well… where do we go?" 

"I guess… somewhere with cheap everything?" He said. 

"That'd be Kansas." She joked. "Did you know, you can get a house in Oklahoma for the price of a new car in California?" She smiled proudly. 

"You have way too much free time on your hands." He laughed softly. 

"I love you too." She smiled, going back to the road atlas. 

They were approaching the interstate, Jess turned to her again. 

"Which entrance should I take?" He asked. 

Rory looked up. North was Massachusetts. South was New York. 

"South." She said eventually. He nodded and took the south entrance. 

"Where am I going?" He smiled, she was falling asleep in the seat next to him. 

"Away." She sighed, her eyes closed. She was still in her pajama's. 

Jess took one hand away from the wheel and pulled a blanket from behind her seat and covered her with it. 

Then he carried on driving. Away.

A/N: Just a quick note - They aren't running to New York, just in that direction. And I also changed the lines in Chapter 2 that** vfoxy713** mentioned. Thanks for the input. (it's nothing major but hopefully you'll cringe less. lol)


	4. Family Emergency

** Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of Gilmore Girls. If I were that all powerful then Jess would be staying put! So, in summation... _Please_ don't sue me!**

Lorelai rubbed her eyes as she plodded down the stairs. The loud banging started again. 

"Alright, alright… I'll be there at 7:03." She shouted, looking at her watch and seeing that it was 6:59am. 

She finally reached the door and opened it, leaning on the door handle to stay standing. 

Luke rushed in past her and headed for Rory's room. 

"Morning to you to." She frowned, closing the door and following him. "Hey… what are you doing?" She asked as he burst in. 

"Oh god. This is great!" He said, opening her wardrobe and drawers and seeing that a lot of her stuff was gone. 

"What's going on…" Asked Lorelai. She noticed Rory's bed was empty. "Where's my kid?" 

"Probably with Jess." Sighed Luke, looking for hints as to where they'd gone. 

"Helpful. Where's Jess?" Asked Lorelai, following Luke around the room. 

"He ran away." 

"He what?!" Said Lorelai, her voice rising. She was now fully awake. 

"I woke up this morning. His stuff, gone. My truck, gone." Said Luke, taking his cap off and rubbing his forehead. 

"And he took my daughter?!" Yelled Lorelai. 

"It looks that way!" 

"Why?!" She said, tears coming to her eyes. 

"Because his mother was coming today to take him home. So I'm guessing they decided to get out of here before she got the chance." 

Lorelai wasn't even listening. She walked over to Rory's bed and sat on it. She couldn't breathe. 

"Hey, hey. Calm down." Said Luke, rushing over to her and kneeling beside her. 

"I… How…" She gasped, gripping Rory's bed spread. 

"Just… breathe." Said Luke, breathing in and out slowly to demonstrate. 

Lorelai looked him in the eyes and tried to breathe in time with him and eventually she managed to. 

She looked down at Rory's pillow and saw the note. She picked it up and opened it, but couldn't read it through her tears. 

Luke took it and read it aloud for her. 

_Mom, _

_I'm so sorry I'm doing this to you, but I have to go. I can't be away from Jess and if we stay, that's what will happen. _

_I love you, very much. And hopefully you'll understand why I have to do this. _

_Please don't call the police. We'll be ok, and we will come back as soon as we can. I promise. Just… wait. I'll call you whenever I can. _

_All my love, _

_Rory._

Luke folded the note and placed it on the bed beside Lorelai. 

"Jess… left me a note too. Asking me not to call the cops." He sighed, taking Lorelai's hand in his. 

"I don't understand. Why didn't she come to me? We could have fixed this!" Cried Lorelai desperately, knowing it wasn't true. 

Luke hugged her tightly. 

"What do we do? I can't… I need her back." Wept Lorelai, gripping Luke's shirt as he held her. "They could be anywhere. She could be anywhere." 

"We'll find them." Luke reassured her. 

"How?! We don't know where they were going. We don't know… what time they left. They're gone Luke!" She said. Hearing the words come out of her mouth, her eyes grew wider and she started to cry more. 

*****

Luke and Lorelai sat in the diner. Lorelai was still in her 'Hello Kitty' pajamas and slippers and she was crying into her coffee. 

The blinds were closed, the diner was empty, it was just the two of them. 

"Is there… anywhere Rory would be… drawn to going?" Said Luke, having exhausted any other ideas. 

"Harvard." Sniffed Lorelai, wiping her eyes. 

"And?" 

"Harvard." She repeated. 

"I thought she was into travel and…" 

"Yeah, to Europe." Sighed Lorelai. 

"Oh." 

There was a loud banging on the door. 

"We're closed!" Shouted Luke, rubbing Lorelai's back gently. 

The banging continued. 

"We're closed." He called again. But the banging continued. 

Luke got up and stormed over to the door, opening it. 

"Kirk, for the last time, we're closed! Family emergency!" He yelled. 

"Family emergency? Would that be avoiding your sister?" 

"Liz." He sighed. 

"Yeah, it's me. Think I was bluffing about coming here?" She said, raising an eyebrow and pushing past him into the diner. "Who's this?" She asked, thumbing at Lorelai. 

"That's Lorelai Gilmore." 

"Oh…" Liz looked at Lorelai. "Uh… sorry to be rude, but we have some family business to discuss so…" 

Lorelai stood up and walked over to her. 

"Family business?" She said. 

"Yes. So, if you'd just give us some privacy…" 

Liz didn't get to finish her sentence. Lorelai's fist met with her nose and Luke had to catch her. 

"You bitch!" Said Lorelai. "Do you have any idea what you've done?" 

"Lorelai, calm down!" Said Luke, sitting Liz in a chair. 

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Shouted Liz, touching her nose to make sure it wasn't broken or bleeding. 

"Me? Me?! I'm not the lunatic who treats her child like a yoyo. I'm a good mother, and I have raised a beautiful daughter and she has fallen in love with _your_ son." 

Liz shook her head and looked at Luke. 

"Translation?" She sighed. 

"Liz, Jess has run away, and he's taken Lorelai's daughter, Rory, with him." Said Luke. 

"You let him run away?" Liz asked. 

"No, I didn't let him!" 

"Oh, yeah. So… my son doesn't want to come home with me, and you don't want to send him back. And then all of a sudden he's just… gone and you want me to believe you had nothing to do with it?" Shouted Liz. 

"I don't care what you believe Liz. Jess ran away on his own. I didn't tell him to do it, and I certainly didn't tell him to take his girlfriend with him." 

Lorelai closed her eyes, listening to Luke and Liz argue. She sat back down and tried to breathe slowly, the way Luke had told her to before. 

"Shut up!" She shouted finally. "This isn't about who was right or wrong." She cried. "Our kids are out there…" 

Luke walked over and hugged Lorelai. 

"So... we call the police." Said Liz. 

Lorelai and Luke looked at her. 

"They asked us not to." Sighed Luke. 

"So… what? The kids run the show around here?" She asked, rolling her eyes. 

"No. But we do what is in their best interests instead of our own." Snapped Lorelai. 

"I'd say that would be getting them back." 

Lorelai's lip trembled and more tears threatened to fall. She wanted Rory back so badly. She wanted to hear her voice, see her smile, hold her. 

"If getting them back means Jess having to be subjected to a minute longer with you than he wants to be…" Lorelai looked down. "Then no, it's not." 

*****

"Where are we?" Asked Rory groggily. 

"Somewhere near Baltimore." Smiled Jess slightly. 

"But… we were only just in New York." She said, sitting up and looking out of the window. 

"No. We were in New York at 6:30am. Then you fell asleep. Now we're in Maryland." 

Rory smiled slightly and took a deep breath. 

"You hungry?" He asked. 

"I could definitely eat." She nodded. 

Jess got off of the interstate at the next exit for a gas station. He filled the truck up while Rory snuck into the bathrooms and changed from her pajamas into some jeans and a sweater. 

"Whatcha' doin'?" Jess frowned, coming up behind her in the gas station and putting his arms around her waist. 

"Getting some cash." She said, punching the pin number into the ATM. 

"You don't need to." He said. 

"I should do it now, while we're still on the move." She sighed. 

"Wow… that's… a lot of money." He said, slightly shocked when she checked the balance. 

"Emergency money. Mom always kept a set amount in this account in case I needed it." 

"For what?" 

"Anything." She shrugged, withdrawing quite a large amount of money and putting it in her purse. 

"So… breakfast." He smiled as she turned around in his arms to face him. 

"Coffee." She grinned. "And…one of those." 

She pulled away and walked over to a large selection of pastries. Jess took that opportunity to go around the gas station and grab some things for later in the day. 

They met up at the cash register, paid and left. 

"So, where do we go from here?" He asked as they made their way over to the pick-up. 

Rory opened the door and got in. She placed her breakfast on the dashboard and opened the road atlas. 

"Virginia?" She offered. "We could head for Norfolk and then carry on down the coast…?" 

"Sounds good to me." He yawned. 

"Ok, I'm driving." She said, waving him out of the drivers seat. 

"I'm fine to drive." He insisted. 

"You need to sleep." She pointed out, kissing his cheek and pushing him towards the door. 

He reluctantly got out and they switched seats. He handed her the keys and she started the engine. After a moment of struggling with driving a different vehicle, she adjusted and they were back on the road. 

"I'll wake you in four hours." She smiled. "We should be in Norfolk by then." 

She looked over at him and smiled when she found him already asleep.


	5. How Very WB of Me

** Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of Gilmore Girls. If I were that all powerful then Jess would be staying put! So, in summation... _Please_ don't sue me!**

Liz and Lorelai sat a few tables apart, Luke stood between them rubbing the back of his neck. 

"You're just going to let her talk to me like that?" Liz asked him. 

Luke looked at her, then at Lorelai. 

"Uh… yeah." He nodded. "I agree with her. It's not in the best interests of Rory or Jess to come back here right now, and that'd be because of you." 

"I don't believe what I'm hearing!" Said Liz in disgust. 

"Get used to it, there's plenty more where that came from." Muttered Lorelai. 

"You're no better than I am. If you daughter were raised properly she wouldn't go running off with guys she barely knows." 

"Barely knows?" Frowned Lorelai. 

"Four months. He's been here four months. If you try and tell me they already think they're soul mates, then don't be surprised if I laugh in your face." Sighed Liz. 

Luke and Lorelai looked at each other. Liz didn't have a clue. 

"Liz… they've known each other for over a year." Said Luke hesitantly, dreading her reaction. 

"How?" 

"They met online." Sighed Lorelai. 

"They…" Liz shook her head and looked at Luke. "You knew about this and you didn't say anything?" She practically snarled at him. 

"I didn't know until after he got here." 

"And don't go getting at him. If you paid as much attention to your son as you do to your fashion accessories, you might have known about it!" Said Lorelai. 

"This is… too much." Said Liz. "What it comes down to is that I trusted you with my son, and you let him run off with some girl!" 

Luke closed his eyes and tried to stay calm. 

"For the last time… I didn't let him. He has a mind of his own Liz. He grew up. He's not 5 years old anymore!" 

"I know that! What do you think I am, an idiot?" 

Lorelai had to bite her tongue to keep herself quiet. 

"Liz… He's an intelligent and independent young man." Sighed Luke. 

"Intelligent? How intelligent is it to do something like this?" She shouted. 

"I dunno! How intelligent is it to ship your son off to stay with a relative because you can be bothered with him, and then expect him to come running home when you whistle?" Said Lorelai. "He's not a freakin' dog!" 

"Luke!" 

"What? I can't tell her not to talk to you like that!" He said, feeling trapped in the middle. "Even if I did, it's not likely she'll listen." 

"This is ridiculous! Why are we all sitting here? We should call the police!" Said Liz. 

"No. You can't do that!" Said Luke, stopping her from going over to the phone. 

"Luke… my son is a run away. A missing person. I'm calling the police!" 

Luke sighed and looked her in the eyes. 

"If you do one thing right in your life, make it this." He said finally. "Go home. Wait. Lorelai and I will handle this." He said calmly. 

"She just said she wasn't going to do anything to get them back!" Shouted Liz, pointing an accusing finger at Lorelai. 

"I said I wasn't going to do anything to bring Jess back to you." Sighed Lorelai. 

Liz looked at them both. She was out numbered. 

"Give me one good reason why I should trust either of you. You, the man who let my only child run away. And her, the one who's daughter probably encouraged the whole thing." 

Luke clenched his fists at his side hearing her blame him again. He managed to keep his reply silent. 

"You should trust us because I love my daughter, and I wouldn't let anything happen to her. And she loves your son, and would never let anything happen to him." Said Lorelai sincerely. 

Lorelai walked over to her and confronted her. Not as the woman her daughter had fled from, but mother to mother. Because, good one or not, at a basic level, Liz was still a mother. 

"I'm going to find my daughter. And your son." She said. "Trust that." 

Liz closed her eyes and breathed deeply. 

"I still think we should call the police." She sighed. 

"If we drag them back here, they'll just run off again." Said Lorelai. 

"Not if we watch them at all times." 

"That's… not humanly possible." Said Lorelai. "Trust me… 3 nights of not sleeping and you go insane." She shook her head. "My point is… if they want to be together, they'll find a way." 

Liz knew Lorelai was right. She didn't want to admit it. 

"If anything happens to my son…" She started. 

"It won't." Said Luke. 

Liz nodded. It was up to Luke and Lorelai. 

*****

Lorelai burst into the diner waving a piece of paper at Luke. 

"Get your stuff." She shouted. 

"What?" He asked, spilling coffee all over the floor. 

"Get some stuff, quick hurry." She came further into the diner and stood on a chair. "Ok… uh… diner people. We're closed." She said looking at all the bewildered customers. 

"I haven't finished my Ham on Wry." Said Kirk. 

"Take it with you!" She said, getting down and pulling Kirk out of his chair. "Come on, we have to close." 

"Lorelai…" Started Luke, watching her pushing all his customers out of the door. 

"Have a nice night, enjoy that coffee! Keep the cup! See ya!" She called, shutting the door. 

"What's going on?" He asked. 

"I called the bank. Rory took her purse. Her ATM card, and the emergency ATM and Credit cards I gave her." She said breathlessly. "So I called the bank and I yelled at a whole lot of people. And eventually they told me that she used the emergency debit card today." 

"Where?" Asked Luke, as they hurried upstairs. 

"Elkridge. It's in Maryland. I looked it up, it's like… right off of the interstate." She said, almost giddy. 

"But… they could be anywhere by now." He sighed, putting some clothes in a bag. 

"Yeah, but we're not going to find them by sitting here! We have to get moving." She said, stuffing his clothes into the bag faster and carrying in out of the apartment. 

"Lorelai… I don't think you thought this through…" He started. 

"I did. I thought… My daughter ran away, I know where she was and I'm going there!" She said. "Now, be a good boy and have Caesar lock up. I'll be waiting in the Jeep." She said. 

Luke did as he was told, and was out in the Jeep with Lorelai a few minutes later. 

"So… the plan is?" He asked, pulling his seat belt on. 

"To find Rory and Jess." She said as she started driving. 

"By…?" 

"Following them." She shrugged. "Don't rain on my parade Luke. I got good news, I have hope. I'm finding these kids!" 

Luke shook his head and looked over at Lorelai. If anyone else had said that, he wouldn't have believed them. But Lorelai… he knew not to underestimate her. 

*****

Rory rolled over in bed. She groaned as another lump in the mattress made her uncomfortable. 

"Stupid, pathetic, no good mattress." She mumbled, sitting up. 

She looked around the crumby motel room and sighed. Then she realized Jess wasn't there. A wave of panic ran through her. 

"Jess?" She called out. He didn't reply. 

She got up and ran over to the window, peering out. Tears sprung to her eyes when she saw that the pick-up truck was gone. 

"Oh my god…" She spun around and looked at the room. Her eyes fell on the piece of paper on his pillow. 

She didn't know if she wanted to open it. She was scared he'd changed his mind, had gone on without her so she could go home. 

She picked it up. Her hands were shaking. She opened it. 

_Gone for breakfast, back soon. _

_Love, Jess_

She let out a long shaky breath and let the tears fall as she laughed. 

"Morning." 

Rory turned at the sound of his voice. 

"Don't ever do that again!" She said, running over and hugging him tightly. 

"Rory, I have really hot coffee in my hand!" He laughed and she let go. 

He set the coffee and some boxes on the table and hugged her again. 

"What's going on?" He asked. 

"You! I woke up and you were gone, and the truck was gone and…" 

"You thought I left you?" He frowned. "I put a note…" 

"I didn't see it!" She laughed, relieved to have him back. 

"I'm sorry." He smiled, hugging her more. "I just saw a diner back down the road last night, so I went and got us coffee and breakfast." 

Rory's face lit up when she was the boxes of food. 

"All is forgiven." She smiled, grabbing one of the cups of coffee and one of the boxes and sitting on the bed. 

*****

"What are you doing." Giggled Rory as Jess led her across a gravel parking lot, his hands over her eyes. 

"Just… wanted to show you something." He smiled. 

"Is it pretty?" She asked playfully. 

"It's very pretty." 

"I like pretty things." 

"I know you do." He laughed slightly. 

They stopped and he sat her on a bench. 

"Ok, you can open your eyes." He said, taking his hand away. 

Rory opened her eyes and blinked a few times. Jess had brought her to the beach. It was still early, and the sun had only just come up. She smiled softly and rested against him. 

"What made you bring me here?" She asked. 

"Thought you'd appreciate a small break before we get back in the truck again." He smiled and she nodded. 

"I do. I really and truly do." She looked out at the water and let out a long sigh. "Where are we?" 

"Wilmington." He said. 

"Wilmington… North Carolina?" She frowned. 

"Yeah." 

"I think that's where they film that Dawson's Creek show." She laughed softly. 

"Oh. How very WB of me." He smiled, kissing her forehead. 

"This is nice." She said contently. 

"Yeah." He agreed quietly, holding her close.


	6. Travel Sick

** Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of Gilmore Girls. If I were that all powerful then Jess would be staying put! So, in summation... _Please_ don't sue me!**

Luke looked from the gas station attendant to Lorelai. 

"Well who was working here yesterday…" She reached forward and grabbed the name tag on his t-shirt. "Samuel?" She sighed. 

"That would be Ted. And he's on break." He said casually. "Could you step to the side Miss, you're blocking the other customers." 

"Yeah well, unless the other customers have a run away daughter, I come first Sammy! Now when will Ted be back?" 

"I said he's on break." Sighed the attendant. 

"How long is 'break'?" Asked Luke, seeing how frustrated Lorelai was. 

"20 minutes." He said, putting some gum in his mouth. 

"When did he go on break?" Asked Lorelai. 

"I don't remember." 

Lorelai wanted to reach out and strangle the guy. He looked like he was still in high school. 

"Let's just get you some coffee and then when this other guy gets back we'll talk to him." Said Luke gently, pulling Lorelai away before she could do any damage. 

"You're so lucky mister!" Said Lorelai, glaring at Samuel. 

Luke and Lorelai headed towards the coffee and pastries at the back of the store. 

"I hate Maryland." She mumbled. 

"Really, I'm surprised it hasn't grown on you during your extensive stays here." Teased Luke. 

"Hey, Luke… when was the last time I had coffee?" She asked. 

"That would be yesterday." He sighed. 

"So… how safe are you right now?" 

"Point taken." He nodded 

Lorelai ran her hand through her hair and then poured herself some coffee. 

"I hate gas station coffee." She said. 

"At this time in the morning, until you've had coffee, you hate everything." Luke reminded her. 

Lorelai took a sip and cringed. 

"It tastes like someone dipped a coffee bean in hot water for 10 seconds." 

"You're not supposed to drink it until you pay for it." 

"If I pay, I have to interact with Samson over there." She said, looking over at him. "And I know how squeamish you are, so seeing a 17 year old with scalded flesh probably isn't your idea of fun." She remarked. 

"Drink your coffee." He said, shaking his head. 

"Oooh!" Lorelai put the coffee down on the side and ran off. 

"What? Puppies? In a gas station?" Pondered Luke, and then he noticed that Ted had come back from break. 

"You. Teddy!" Shouted Lorelai, pushing past customers. 

"Ted. My name is Ted." He sighed. 

"Yeah, well, I think Teddy is cuter. Go with it." She said, forcing a smile. "Now… my daughter came in here yesterday and I was told that you were working when she was here." 

"Maybe." He shrugged. 

Lorelai handed him a picture of Rory. 

"Remember her?" She asked. The smile on his face caused her to snatch the picture back. "Ogle time over. Talk." She demanded. 

"Yeah, I remember her. She was in here with some guy. What about it?" 

"She's a run away." Said Luke, coming up behind Lorelai. 

"Oh, sorry to hear that." He said. "I didn't know. If I'd known I would have called someone." 

"Sure you would. But… what do you remember? What did they do, where were they going…?" She asked desperately. 

"I don't know. They came in. She used the ATM, he bought some food… they left." He shrugged. "They could have been headed south. I noticed them turn right out of the station… that's the quickest way to the south interstate entrance." 

"Thank you, Teddy." Smiled Lorelai. "You've been a big help." 

Luke and Lorelai hurried back out to the jeep and got in it. 

"South, right?" He asked. 

"That's what Teddy said." She sighed. 

*****

Rory picked up the receiver and placed some quarters in the phone. She hesitated and then dialed. 

Jess watched her shift uncomfortably from one foot to the next, and after a few minutes she hung up. 

"She's not there." She sighed. 

"She's got a pager and cell, couldn't you try those?" He asked. 

"I guess… do you think I should?" 

"I think you need to talk to her." He smiled supportively and she nodded. 

*****

Lorelai rummaged through her purse when her cell started ringing. 

"Hello?" She frowned. There was a long pause. 

"Mom?" 

"Oh my god. Rory?! Is that you?" She said, covering her other ear in hopes of hearing her better. 

"Yeah. It's me." Rory bit her lip, wondering what Lorelai would say. 

"Should I pull over?" Luke asked quietly. Lorelai shook her head. 

"Rory, where are you?" 

"I can't tell you." Sighed Rory, looking down at her shoes. "I just wanted to let you know that we're ok…" 

"Babe, come home, we'll figure this all out." Begged Lorelai. 

"I can't mom. Listen… my money's running out and I don't have anymore quarters, so… I'll call you again the next time I get a chance. I promise." 

"Rory, don't go!" Said Lorelai, starting to cry. 

"I love you, mom." She said, on the verge of tears herself. She hung up. 

Jess walked over to her and hugged her tightly as she cried. 

"Rory?! Rory!!" Lorelai wept into the phone. When she realized she wasn't going to get a response she shut it off. 

"What did she say? Do you know where they are?" Luke asked. 

"She said they're ok, and that they can't come home and she can't tell me where they are." Lorelai said, wiping her eyes. 

"So…we don't know anything?" He sighed. 

Lorelai slumped back in her seat and didn't answer. They drove in silence for a minute. 

"I heard water." Said Lorelai suddenly. 

"What do you mean?" Frowned Luke. 

"In the background." She said, smiling slightly. "I heard a noise… I think it was water." 

"What… like a shower or a fountain?" He asked. 

"No, the ocean." 

"Are you sure?" 

"Yeah, I heard the ocean." She nodded. 

"Ok… well… There's no way they could be on the west coast yet. So… they must be on the east coast still." He said, feeling a bit more confident about finding them. 

"So…" Lorelai pulled out a map and a pen. "They went from Stars Hollow to Baltimore." She mumbled, drawing a line. "And they're still on the east coast… how far could they have gone in one day?" She frowned. 

"Uh… If the bank was right, and they were in Baltimore at about 8am yesterday, then… assuming they stopped overnight last night…" He narrowed his eyes, thinking. "Probably anywhere between here and the Florida state line." 

"And your truck… assuming they filled it up in Baltimore, how far would they get before having to stop for gas again?" She asked. 

"Um… 250 miles at the very most." Said Luke. 

Lorelai studied the map closely. 

"Ok, well… then they would have had to stop near… Norfolk. Or just past the border of North Carolina." She said. 

"So what's the plan." He frowned. 

"We assume they stayed on the interstate, and when we get to Norfolk we get off at ever interstate exit with a gas station and we show their pictures to the people there until we find something that tells us that we're going the right way." She said, closing the map. 

"As crazy as that sounds… it might work." He said, smiling at her hopefully. 

*****

Rory yawned and lay back on the motel room bed. Jess was on the phone with a friend in New York. She closed her eyes and thought about her mom. She felt so bad after their phone call. She'd known that Lorelai would be upset, but the pain in her voice had been more than Rory could stand. 

Jess hung up and sat on the bed beside her. 

"So? What did he say?" She asked. 

"Uh… he's gonna' call a friend of his in New Orleans. He thinks we'll be able to stay there for a while." He nodded. "He'll call back when he's talked to him." 

"How far is New Orleans?" 

"At least 7 hours." He sighed.

"Ick. More driving." She said, running her hand through her hair. 

He lay down beside her and held her hand. 

"I'm sorry. We can stay here if you want?" He offered. 

"No… it's ok. If we can stay with this friend of your friend for free we should do it." 

"Rory?" He turned his head to look at her. 

"Yeah?" She sighed, doing the same. 

"If… you decide you want to go home…" He started. 

"I won't." 

"But if you do… you only have to say so." 

"I know." She smiled slightly. "But I'm fine." She insisted, kissing him. 

*****

"We shouldn't be stopping." Said Lorelai, pacing at the foot of the bed. 

"We need to sleep." Said Luke, taking his shoes off. 

"We should be out there… catching up to them!" 

"Lorelai… we need to sleep." He said again. 

She sat on the end of the bed. 

"We're close Luke, we have to be." She said, looking at him for comfort. 

"I think we are." He nodded. 

"That woman… she said she thought she recognized Jess's picture." 

"I know." He said softly. 

"So… they came this way." Lorelai said, more to herself than to Luke. 

Luke lay back on the bed and folded his arms behind his head. Lorelai looked at him and sighed. She didn't want to admit she was tired, but she was. She scooted back across the bed using her hands, and then lay down with her head on his chest. 

He smiled slightly and put his arm around her. 

*****

Luke woke up slowly and looked around. It was morning already, he felt like he'd only just fallen asleep. 

He picked his watch up off of the night stand and squinted at it. 7:18am. He sighed and let his head rest back on the pillow. Then he heard a noise coming from the bathroom. 

"Lorelai?" He frowned, sitting up and looking over at the bathroom door. 

"Yeah?" She called back, her voice shaky. 

"Are you ok in there?" 

"I'm fine." She said. 

Luke heard the toilet flush and then some water running. Lorelai came out and walked slowly back to the bed. 

"Travel sickness." She mumbled, sitting down. 

"We're not traveling." 

"Delayed travel sickness then." She sighed, sipping the glass of water beside her bed. 

"Are you sure you're ok?" 

"Totally fine." She said, not too convincingly. 

"Maybe we should…wait until this afternoon before we hit the road again." 

"No… Luke, we have to get going… We're already god knows how many miles behind them." She said, looking him in the eyes. "We're so close… we can't stop now." 

He nodded and rubbed her arm reassuringly.


	7. Never a Normal Day

** Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of Gilmore Girls. If I were that all powerful then Jess would be staying put! So, in summation... _Please_ don't sue me!**

Rory looked at the road atlas, tracing the interstate with her index finger. 

"We need to get off of I-95 and onto I-10." She said, closing it. 

"Ok, well, that's still a few miles away." Said Jess as they pulled out of the gas station. 

They were just north of Jacksonville, Florida, about to switch from the main road they'd be traveling south on, to one that would take them west, to New Orleans. 

"What time do you think we'll get there?" She asked, looking out of the window. 

"Probably this evening." He sighed. "That is, if you wanted to stop for lunch?" He asked. 

"Oooh, lunch sounds good." She grinned. 

"Burgers?" He smiled. 

"And fries." She nodded, licking her lips. 

"As you wish." He said, pulling back onto I-95 for the last time. 

*****

Lorelai sat in the passenger seat of the Jeep with the door open. 

"Sorry I-95." She sighed, wiping her mouth and looking at Luke. "Does this count as litter?" She frowned, point to where she'd been sick. 

"I don't know. But they can fine me all they like, I ain't clearing it up." He said, tucking her hair behind her ear. 

"I think I'm ok now." She smiled up at him. 

"I don't. You haven't eaten anything since last night, you need to get some food inside you." 

"But it won't stay inside." She pouted. 

"We're going to find somewhere and get you something very bland to eat." He said, getting back in the drivers side of the Jeep. 

"I don't like bland food." She muttered, pulling her legs inside the car and closing the door. 

"I don't care. Don't even try and argue, this is one fight you won't win." He smiled slightly. 

"Only because I'm ill. You wouldn't win on a normal day." She said, raising an eyebrow at him. He shook his head and smiled at her. 

*****

"I'm sorry." Cringed Rory. 

"It's ok." Said Jess as they pulled back onto the interstate. "We didn't get too lost." 

"The sign was bad. I thought it said 10, not 12." She explained. 

"It's really ok." He smiled at her. "We're only like… 30 minutes in the wrong direction." 

It was already dark, and they were almost an hour north of New Orleans. 

"Ugh… we're gonna' have to stop for gas." He said, noticing that they were almost on empty again. 

"I'm sorry." 

"Stop apologizing, we probably would have had to stop again before we got there anyway." He insisted. 

They took the next exit and turned into a small gas station. 

"Are they open?" Laughed Rory softly. It was dimly lit and run down. 

"They need to be." Said Jess, getting out of the car. 

Rory got out and stretched for a minute. She was looking forward to not being in the truck all day the next day. 

"Do you think they have a bathroom?" She asked. 

Jess looked over at the building and then noticed some portable toilets next to it. 

"I think it depends on either how desperate or brave you are." He smiled. 

Rory scrunched her nose up and sighed, heading over to them reluctantly. Jess finished pumping gas and walked over to the main building to pay. 

"Hey… I'm at…" Jess looked back outside. "The pump on the right." He said, trying not to laugh. 

The man at the register was old. He looked like he was half asleep. Jess rolled his eyes. He was going to be there a while. 

Rory stepped out of the toilet and shut the door firmly behind her, as if she was afraid of letting some kind of animal out. She shuddered and turned to walk away. 

"Want a cigarette?" 

She rolled her eyes and turned around, thinking it was Jess fooling around. She found herself only inches away from a scrawny blond guy, who looked only a few years older than her. 

"Oh… Uh… no. Thank you." She said, trying to smile. 

"Not from around here?" He asked when she turned to leave. 

"No… uh… just passing through." She sighed, feeling uncomfortable but wanting to be polite. 

The guy nodded and Rory turned again. He hurried in front of her. 

"Leaving?" He asked, taking his cigarette out of his mouth and blowing some smoke in her direction. 

"Yeah… my boyfriend is just paying..." She said, trying to step around him. He blocked her. 

"Then we can talk until he's done." He smiled, flicking his cigarette away and taking a step towards her. She stepped back. 

"I don't mean to be rude… but I'd really rather not." She said. Panic rose inside her as he continued to come closer, forcing her to back up more. 

Jess sighed impatiently as the man at the cash register counted the money he'd handed him. 

"Uh… I'm kind of in a hurry here…" Jess said, hoping it would make the man go faster, but he didn't even seem to hear him. 

Rory found herself backed up against the gas station. The guy placed his hand on the wall next to her head, his face was only a few inches from hers. 

"Looks like your boyfriend got hung up." He said, pretending to be sorry for her. 

"He'll be out in a minute." She persisted, hoping the guy would believe her and back off. 

"Well, until he bothers to come back for you, I'll make sure nothing happens to you." He smiled, leaning closer. Rory looked away. 

The man in the gas station opened the cash register and started getting Jess his change slowly. 

"I'll just be a minute, I have to get some more pennies." He said, turning and heading into a room behind him. 

"You know what? That's ok. The service was great! Keep the change!" Shouted Jess, walking quickly towards the doors. 

Rory's body was stiff, she didn't move at all, she was too scared too. 

"Don't be so tense…" He said quietly, running his hand across her cheek and down her neck. 

Rory closed her eyes and started to cry as his hand moved down across her chest and over her stomach. 

"Please don't." She whimpered. 

He didn't say anything. He continued to stare at her. 

Just as his fingers started unbuttoning her pants, She heard Jess's voice. 

"Get the hell away from her!" 

Jess hit him with a force that knocked him to the ground, and then he hit him again and again. Rory slumped down against the wall crying. 

The other guy crawled away from Jess and after a few failed attempts he finally got back on his feet and ran off. 

Jess stood, breathing hard, watching him go. He'd never felt so much rage in his life. It scared him. He felt like he could have killed the guy with his bare hands. 

He turned and saw Rory crying, and he hurried over to her. 

"Are you ok?" He asked quietly, brushing some hair from her face. 

She looked up at him. Her eyes were wide, like she was caught in the headlights of a car. She gasped a few times, trying to calm down, but couldn't. Jess reached out and hugged her. It was gentle at first, but as what had happened sunk in for both of them, it became stronger and more desperate. 

After a few minutes, he started to pull back slowly. 

"Come on, we need to get you out of here." He said, helping her to her feet. 

Her legs didn't seem to want to hold her up, so he did, practically carrying her back to the truck and sitting her in the passenger seat. 

"How far is it." She finally asked. 

"How far is what?" He asked, not letting go of her hand. 

"The place… in New Orleans." 

"Forget that. We're not going there tonight." He said, starting the truck. 

"Why?" She frowned, hugging herself. 

"Because… You need to be somewhere clean and … warm and safe." He said, looking over at her. "And I'm pretty sure the guy we were going to stay with doesn't live somewhere like that." 

She didn't say anything. 

"Besides, you don't need to be around any strangers tonight." He added. 

She didn't argue, she knew he was right, and she was grateful that he knew and understood her so well. 

*****

Rory came out of the bathroom. Her hair was still wet. She looked comfortable in the big fluffy bathrobe that Jess had asked the front desk to send up. 

"Feel better?" He asked, turning off the TV and watching her. 

"A little." She nodded, sitting on the bed next to him. "Thanks for getting the bathrobe." She said quietly. 

"No problem. You expect these things from a Marriott." He smiled softly. 

She pushed herself back on the bed, resting against the pillows. She played with the cuff of the bathrobe, it was too big on her, but she liked how surrounded and safe that made her feel. 

Jess didn't say anything. He didn't want to force her to talk about what happened if she didn't want to. And he didn't want to ask her if she was ok, because it was obvious just by looking at her that she wasn't. 

"Thank you." 

"For what." He frowned, moving closer to her. 

"For… coming out of the gas station when you did. For stopping him." She said, looking him in the eyes. 

"You don't have to thank me Rory. I'm just… sorry I left you alone or… didn't come out of there sooner." He sighed. 

"It's ok. It's not you fault." 

"I …" He hesitated. "I don't know what I would have done if something happened to you." He said, looking down at the sheets. 

"I was so scared." She said, starting to cry all over again. 

He put his arms around her gently. 

"I thought… I thought he was going to…" She stopped. She couldn't say it. 

"I know." He said softly, closing his eyes tightly. He didn't want to think about what could have happened. 

"I kept thinking 'why is this happening to me', you know?" She wept, resting her head against his shoulder. He nodded. 

She pulled back and looked at him. 

"And then… I kept thinking how… you're supposed to be my first." She said, wiping her eyes on the sleeve of the bathrobe and then looking down at her hands. 

He reached out and ran his hand through her hair slowly. 

"Well… if…" He paused and she looked up at him. "When you're ready, if you still want me to be, I will." He said softly. 

She hugged him tightly and they lay back on the bed.  
  
She closed her eyes, focusing all her attention on feeling his arms around her, holding her close. Protecting her.   
He closed his eyes, thankful that he could still hold her. That she was safe. That he could protect her. 

***** 

"Lorelai, you look pale." Sighed Luke. 

"I'm fine." She insisted, pulling on her jacket. "Look, it's already 9:30am. Can we get going now?" 

"Lore, please…" He said, walking over to her. 

"Luke, no. Please just let it go. I told you all day yesterday I was fine." She said impatiently. 

"Yeah, and each time it was punctuated with vomiting." He pointed out. 

"That's an exaggeration." She said, not wanting to raise her voice. 

"Please, just… rest. You're ill and you're stressed out…" 

"Because Rory is out there somewhere and I don't know if she's ok!" Shouted Lorelai. 

"We're not going to find her if you don't rest and get better!" He insisted. 

She didn't reply. She rubbed her forehead and took a deep breath. 

"Please, let's just… let's go.." She sighed. 

"Lorelai?" Luke frowned as she swayed very slightly. "Lore… are you ok?" He asked again. 

Lorelai groaned slightly and collapsed. 

"Lorelai!" Luke rushed to her side, and lifted her head gently. She'd fainted. 

He got up and hurried over to the phone to call an ambulance. 

***** 

Lorelai lay in the hospital bed while the nurse took some blood to be tested. Luke sat beside her, holding her other hand. 

"You can go." She looked at him. "This must be hell for you, I know how much you hate these places." She smiled slightly. 

"I'll deal with it." He smiled back, squeezing her hand. "I'm not leaving you." 

"Ok, all done." Said the nurse, putting the last of the blood samples on the tray and taking her gloves off. 

"How long will the tests take?" Asked Lorelai. 

"Only a little while." She smiled reassuringly. "Maybe an hour, two at most." 

"Can I stay with her until then?" Asked Luke. 

"Yes, of course." She nodded and then walked away. 

"You want a coffee?" He asked Lorelai. "Of course you do. I'll go find you one." He said, getting up and leaving before she could say anything. 

He ran after the nurse and stopped her. 

"Can I help you?" She smiled. 

"Yeah… uh… what do you think is wrong with her?" He asked. 

"Well, from what you've both told us… it might just be stress related." She nodded. 

"I didn't know that stress caused nausea though." He frowned. 

"Not typically, but… it can happen. It could just be that she ate something that didn't agree with her or had a stomach bug." 

"Could it be a lack of caffeine?" He asked, half seriously. "I mean, she's a big coffee drinker, but the last few days we've been on the road a lot and she hasn't had any really." 

"Stranger things have happened." Said the nurse. "We'll know more after the tests come back." She smiled and walked away


	8. Nothing is Impossible

A/N:** NO!** Rory and Jess **didn't **have sex. I wouldn't write something so inappropriate!

Sorry. That came out harsher than intended. But believe me, I wouldn't write something like that and I'm sorry what I did write was unclear. I've changed it.

** Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of Gilmore Girls. If I were that all powerful then Jess would be staying put! So, in summation... _Please_ don't sue me!**

Jess closed the hotel room door and brought the tray of food over to the bed. 

"Your breakfast is here." He smiled softly at Rory. 

She looked over at him and smiled. 

"Great." 

He placed the tray on the bed and lifted the metal cover from one of the plates. 

"Look good?" He asked. 

"It looks fine." She nodded, picking up the fork and trying a mouthful of the scrambled eggs. 

"Taste good?" 

"Not as good as it looks." She smiled and put the fork down so she could pour herself some coffee. 

Jess sat on the bed and watched her eat for a few minutes. He was worried about her. She hadn't said much since she woke up. 

"Do you want to stay here again tonight?" 

"I don't mind. We could go to that place… the one in New Orleans." She said, not looking up from the plate of food in front of her. 

Jess could read the look on her face, and he could tell from her voice that she'd rather stay where they were. At least for another night. 

*****

"No, it's ok. I want to stay… we're… she's… I'm her boyfriend." Said Luke finally. It was the first time he'd actually said that out loud to anyone. 

The doctor nodded and he and Luke walked back into Lorelai's room. 

"What's up doc?" She asked casually as Luke sat beside her and took her hand in his again. 

"Well, we got your labs back." He smiled and she nodded. 

"So, what's the verdict? Will I live?" She joked, trying to stop Luke worrying. It didn't work. 

"Yes, you'll live." Chuckled the doctor. 

"So, what is it… what's wrong with her?" Frowned Luke. 

"Nothing." Said the doctor. 

Lorelai and Luke looked at one another and frowned. 

"So… why have I been throwing up? And why did I faint? Is it stress?" She asked. 

"No." The doctor looked down at her chart and then up at her. "It's pregnancy." 

Lorelai sat and stared at the doctor for a moment and then laughed. 

"Eh, that's a good one!" She said, clapping her hands a couple of times. "Yeah, see… I don't even know where kid number one is…" She said through her laughter. "You and the nurses think this one up on your lunch break?" 

Luke didn't say anything. 

"Um… maybe I should give you two a minute." Smiled the doctor. 

"Hey now… come back here. I want my real test results!" Lorelai called after him. She turned to Luke. "Can you believe that? Me… us, pregnant!" She burst out laughing again. 

"Lorelai, I don't think it's a joke." He said quietly. 

"It's gotta be a joke!" She giggled. "Luke, come on!" She said, her smile fading. "Think about it… me and you, having a kid?!" 

"Yeah, I'm thinking about it." He said, getting up and rubbing his neck. 

"Well stop it, you're freakin' me out here!" She sighed. 

"Lorelai, the man was being serious!" Luke said. 

"It's not possible." She said, still in denial. 

"Why?" He said, throwing his arms in the air. "I'm not aware that I have… problems in that area! And as far as we know, you aren't exactly barren…" He said. 

"Couldn't put it any more delicately?!" She asked raising her eyebrows. 

He took a deep breath. 

"Ok, can we just… for one minute, 'pretend' that the doctor guy out there was being serious." 

"But he wasn't." 

"But lets say he was!" Sighed Luke. 

"Ok. For arguments sake, impending law suit doctor was serious." Said Lorelai, rolling her eyes. 

"So…?" He looked at her. "What are you thinking?" 

"I'm thinking he's lying!" 

"Lorelai!" 

"Ok, alright. I'm thinking… that… if I can find and capture the first one before this one pops out, then I might not be such a bad mother." She shrugged. 

"So… you're happy about this?" He asked gently. 

"Yes Luke, I'm happy about the non-existent fetus. Now can we please get Doctor Idiot back in here so he can tell me I have food poisoning or something!" She sighed impatiently. 

Luke got up and went to find the doctor. 

Lorelai looked down at her stomach and frowned. She was sure that she couldn't be pregnant. Technically she could… but she was certain she wasn't. 

Luke and the doctor returned. 

"So, I take it the two of you have discussed this?" He asked, looking at Lorelai who was sitting with her arms folded. 

"Yeah, now… what's really wrong with me." Asked Lorelai. 

The doctor looked at Luke who shook his head and shrugged. 

"She won't listen." He said quietly. 

"Hello? Still here!" Lorelai glared at him. 

"How about… we do an ultrasound?" The doctor offered. 

"But I'm not pregnant." She sighed. "I don't have time for all this." She looked at Luke, pleading with him. 

"It'll only take a minute… I'll go get the machine, bring it down here and we'll find out once and for all." The doctor smiled. 

"Fine, go get your ultrasound machine. And when it says I'm not pregnant then you can pay my hospital bill, how's that?" She said, giving him a fake smile. 

The doctor smiled at Luke and left. 

"You could be a little nicer." Said Luke. 

"Don't talk to me right now. I don't like you much either." She pouted, folding her arms across her chest and slouching in the bed more. 

*****

Lorelai's mouth fell open when the doctor finally found her baby on the ultrasound. 

"There it is." He smiled, looking at her. 

"That's… our baby?" Luke asked, not taking his eyes off of the screen. 

"Yep." The doctor smiled. He looked back at the screen and studied it for a moment. "I'd say you're at least 10 weeks along." He nodded to himself. 

"Lorelai?" Luke looked away from the screen finally. Lorelai was silent. She stared in awe at the screen, tilting her head to one side. 

"That's… it's head?" She whispered, pointing at the ultrasound. 

"Yes." The doctor smiled. 

"It looks just like a tiny human!" Lorelai mused, tears coming to her eyes. 

"It is a tiny human." Luke chuckled, holding her hand. 

"Is it ok?" She asked. "Is it… is the heart beating?" She asked suddenly. 

"Yeah, see…" The doctor pointed to the area where the baby's heart was and Lorelai watched the small thumping motion for a while. "Would you like to hear it?" He asked, seeing that she was still anxious. 

"Can we?" Asked Luke eagerly. 

The doctor picked up another piece of equipment, a small speaker with a probe attached to a cord. 

"Where'd you get that? 'Toys R Us'?" Lorelai laughed gently. 

"I know it doesn't look like much, but trust me." The doctor smiled and placed the probe against Lorelai's belly. 

There was a distant thumping noise, and he moved it around slowly until it developed into a loud and fast thump-thump-thump. 

Luke and Lorelai looked at each other and smiled. 

"Is that normal… it's so fast." Asked Luke, concerned. 

"It sounds just fine." The doctor reassured him. 

Lorelai lay back on the bed and closed her eyes, listening to the heartbeat. 

*****

Jess looked at Rory. She was sleeping on the bed, and had been sleeping on an off all day. She had been making less and less conversation, but when she did talk to him she insisted that she was fine. 

He sighed and rested his head in his hands. He didn't know what he could do for her. He'd tried comforting her, but felt that he was smothering her. He'd tried giving her space, but felt that he was ignoring her. 

After 12 hours of watching and feeling helpless, he was ready to give in to what he knew he had to do. 

He got up and quietly left the hotel room. He headed down stairs to the lobby and over to the pay phones in the corner. 

He took a piece of paper out of his pocket and stared at the smudged text on it. Then he dialed. 

The phone seemed to ring for an eternity. He was about to hang up when someone finally answered. 

"Hello?" 

"Hey, it's me." He sighed. 

"Jess?" 

"Yeah." 

"Are you ok?" 

"I'm fine." He looked down at the floor. 

"Where are you?" 

Jess didn't answer for a moment. He looked around him and then over to the elevators. 

"Baton Rouge, Louisiana." He said finally. 

"Address?" 

"The Marriott on Hilton Avenue. It's like… 2 miles from the city center." 

"Ok…" There was a pause. "Stay where you are." 

"Ok." Jess agreed reluctantly. 

The line went quiet and Jess hung up. 

*****

"Hey, I'm looking for Jess Mariano. Can you tell me what room he's in?" 

"I'm sorry, I can't give you the room number, but I can call the room and tell him you're here." Smiled the lady at the front desk. 

"Ok, can you do that then? He's expecting us." 

The lady nodded and picked up the phone. 

Jess grabbed the phone after only one ring. He held his hand over the mouthpiece for a moment, looking to see if Rory had woken up. She hadn't. 

"Hello?" 

"Mr. Mariano, you have some guests waiting in the lobby." 

"Thanks, I'll be right there." He said, hanging up. 

He snuck out of the room and hurried to the elevators. The whole way down he stared at the red 'stop' button, weighing out the pro's and con's to using it. 

When the doors opened at the lobby, he took a deep breath and stepped out. 

"Hey." He said nervously. 

No one spoke for a moment. 

"I don't know whether to hug you or hit you." 

"You can do both." He smiled softly. 

"Come here!" 

Lorelai pulled Jess into a tight hug, surprising him. He hugged her back and then she let him go. She was crying. 

She swung her purse at him, hitting him in the arm. 

"That's for running off with my daughter!" She laughed gently through her tears and then hugged him again. 

"I'm sorry." 

"We know." Sighed Luke. 

"Where is she?" Asked Lorelai, wiping her eyes and walking towards the elevators. 

Jess grabbed her arm firmly but gently and pulled her back. 

"First… I have to tell you something." He said, looking away from them both. "It's why I called." 

"You didn't just get tired of running?" Frowned Luke. 

"No. I mean… neither of us wanted to go, but… we would have kept going." He said apologetically. 

"So what do you have to tell us?" Asked Lorelai. 

"Rory… Something happened to her the other night." 

"Something? What something?" Cried Lorelai, panicking. 

"We were at this crumby gas station, and when I went in to pay, this guy… he…" Jess paused, trying to find the right words. "He tried to… assault her." 

"Tried to?" Asked Luke. 

"Yeah. I stopped him before he could do anything. I think he mostly just scared her. But she doesn't want to talk about it." He sighed and looked at the floor. "She says she's ok, but I don't think she is." He looked at Lorelai. "I think she needs you. That's why I called." 

Lorelai nodded and gave Jess a small smile to let him know she was grateful. 

"Ok… can we go see her?" She asked eagerly. 

"Sure." 

Jess led them over to the elevators and up to the room he and Rory had been staying in. 

He slid the key card into the door and opened it. 

"She's asleep." He whispered. "Or she was when I left." 

"Maybe you should go in alone." Luke said, looking at Lorelai. 

Jess nodded in agreement and Lorelai stepped inside, closing the door behind her. 

Lorelai walked carefully around the bed. The room was dark, but lights from the parking lot outside threw a faint glow through the window. 

She knelt down beside the bed and looked at Rory for a moment. She started to cry again. 

"Babe…" She whispered, stroking Rory's hair gently. "Wake up." 

Rory's brow creased into a frown and she slowly opened her eyes. 

"Hey." Lorelai smiled gently. 

Rory looked panicked. They'd found them, and now Jess was going to have to go back to New York. 

"It's ok… Jess called us." Lorelai said reassuringly when she saw the fear in her daughter's eyes. 

Rory sat up slowly and looked at Lorelai. 

"I'm so sorry, mom!" She cried, flinging her arms around her and hugging her. 

Lorelai hugged her back protectively. 

"I know. It's ok. It's over now." She sighed, relieved to have her daughter back.


	9. Dark Clouds Drift Away

** Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of Gilmore Girls. If I were that all powerful then Jess would be staying put! So, in summation... _Please_ don't sue me!**

"So now what?" Sighed Jess, sitting on the bed. 

"We go home." Said Lorelai. 

Rory and Jess looked at one another. Rory had tears in her eyes. 

"What about Jess." She said as a tear made it's way down her cheek. 

"Well…" Luke sighed and looked at them. "I'll call Liz and have her come back to Stars Hollow… and we'll talk." 

"It won't do any good." Sighed Jess. 

"Neither will that attitude." Said Lorelai gently, pulling Rory to her and hugging her again. 

Rory continued to cry. Lorelai reached into her purse and pulled out a tissue. 

"Stop with the waterworks, we'll figure this out." She said softly, handing the tissue to Rory. 

Jess frowned at the piece of paper that fell from Lorelai's bag when she pulled out the tissue. 

"Uh…" He reached down and picked it up. "You dropped this." 

Lorelai gasped when she realized it was her ultrasound picture. 

"Thanks!" She said, giving him a huge grin and snatching it back quickly. 

"What was that?" Frowned Rory, as she reached out to take it from Lorelai. 

"Nothing… postcard!" She said, holding it away from Rory. 

"Mom!" Rory sighed, looking Lorelai in the eyes. 

"We're going to have to tell them sometime." Said Luke with a shrug. 

"Fine, you tell them." Said Lorelai nervously. 

Rory and Jess both looked at Luke expectantly, waiting for him to tell them whatever it was Lorelai was so nervous about. 

"Well, Rory, your mother and I… we're…" He started uncertainly. 

"Pregnant. We're pregnant." Said Lorelai. 

Luke frowned at her and then smiled. 

"I thought you wanted me to tell them." 

"I did. But you were taking all day about it." She smiled. 

"Wait… hold on." Rory shook her head and looked back and forth between Luke and Lorelai. "Mom… you're… having a baby?" She said, a smile creeping onto her lips. 

"No. Not this second. But in 7 months or so… yeah." Lorelai nodded. "Are you… ok with this?" 

"Of course!" Rory laughed, hugging Lorelai. "Lemme see!" She said, reaching out for the ultrasound picture. 

Jess moved closer to Rory so he could see. 

"Aww… there's its little head!" Rory smiled, pointing it out to Jess. "It's like a mini person." 

"That's what I said!" Grinned Lorelai. 

"It's true, she did say that." Smiled Luke. 

"Congratulations." Jess said. "I know that's a stupid thing to say… but I'm no good with the gushy mushy "look at it's teeny tiny toes" stuff." He blushed slightly. 

"Thank you." Smiled Lorelai. 

The cloud that had been hanging over them seemed to lift with the news of Lorelai's pregnancy. The ultrasound picture seemed to bring some kind of relief to everyone. 

But as the news sank in, the clouds reformed and they all remembered why they were sitting in a hotel room in Louisiana. 

*****

Luke took the keys from Lorelai and opened the front door of the house. 

"Ugh… home." She sighed, heaving her bag over the threshold. 

"Give me that, you're not to carry any anything ever." Said Luke, taking her bag from her. 

"Ever?" Asked Jess, his eyebrows raised. 

"Well… for 7 months anyway. And then she'll be too busy carrying the baby to carry anything else." He smiled. 

"You're going to carry the baby sometimes." She said, patting his stomach with the back of her hand as she walked past him. 

"Not if you want it's head and the floor to stay as far away from each other as possible." He sighed. 

Lorelai rolled her eyes and flopped on the couch. 

"You're going to be a great dad." She insisted. 

"Yeah, as long as there's no jam in the house." He muttered. 

"Jam?" Frowned Rory. 

"Yeah, they get it on their hands and there's stickiness and…" He looked at her confused expression. "I'll explain later." He said, waving the subject away with his hand. 

Jess picked up Rory's bag and looked at her. 

"Do you want me to put this…?" He started. 

"Sure." She nodded quietly as they made their way to her room. 

"No climbing out of the window you two!" Lorelai shouted from the living room. She was laying on the couch with one foot propped up on the arm of the couch, the other on the coffee table and her arm draped across her forehead dramatically. 

Rory and Jess didn't respond. 

"I guess I'll… call Liz." Sighed Luke, walking over and picking up the phone. 

Rory shut her bedroom door and Jess dropped her bag on the floor. She looked around. Her room looked the same as it had the night she left. Her sheets were still ruffled from where she had been sleeping. The note she had written to Lorelai lay open on the bed. 

"So… here we are again." Sighed Jess, turning to face her. 

She nodded, still taking in her surroundings. 

"Are you ok?" He asked gently. 

"Not really." She said, her voice shaking slightly. 

He sighed and looked at the floor. 

"Do you… um…" He looked up at her finally. "What happened to you..." 

"Jess…" She started, shaking her head slowly. 

"Do you blame me? I mean… do you even want to be around me anymore?" He asked, trying to fight the tears he felt gathering. 

"God no, I don't blame you!" She said, her eyes wide. "Why would you think that?" 

"Because you've barely been able to talk to me or look at me since it happened." He said, his voice was laced with pain. 

"I'm sorry. I didn't realize." She said quietly, looking away for a moment. "I just… haven't felt like myself." 

"I understand that. I really do." He said, walking over to her. "Just like I'm going to understand if you want to be alone." 

"Alone?" She frowned looking him in the eyes. 

"I can go back to New York. I don't want to. But if you want me to…" 

"Jess!" She cried, tears coming to her eyes. 

"I don't know what you want anymore. Last week, I know that the only thing either of us wanted was to be together. But now…" He sighed. "It's ok if you need to be by yourself for a while." He said sincerely. 

Rory shook her head in disbelief. She didn't know what to do to convince him that nothing had changed. That deep down she wanted to be with him more than anything, whether that was apparent on the surface or not. 

She stepped forward and kissed him passionately. He pulled her closer, kissing her back. He gave a small cry of relief, having her in his arms again, feeling everything she was feeling all in one kiss.


	10. The Journey’s Only Just Starting

A/N: Sorry it took me so long to update. Bad kitty! But here is the final chapter of this story. Hope you enjoy it.

** Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of Gilmore Girls. If I were that all powerful then Jess would be staying put! So, in summation... _Please_ don't sue me!**

Lorelai, Luke, Jess and Rory sat in the Gilmore's living room. No one said anything. The ticking clock was driving Rory insane. She ran her hands through her hair and constantly shifted in her seat, as if she were trying to find a position from which she couldn't hear it anymore. 

Lorelai looked around the room with her eyebrows raised. 

"Twinkie?" She said cheerfully, her mouth full. 

"No thanks." Sighed Jess. 

"Oh yes! Please, pass me the sugary death-filled snacks." Said Luke sarcastically. 

"Hey, they're a perfectly valid snack food!" Pouted Lorelai. 

"I don't think you should be passing your habits on to our impressionable child." Luke said, nodding to her belly. 

"If the baby doesn't want the Twinkies, believe me, we'll all know about it." She said. 

"So… when did she say she'd be here?" Asked Jess. 

Luke looked at his watch and then at the door. 

"Now. But you know your mother. She likes to be fashionably late." Sighed Luke. 

"Inconsiderately late was how I would have put it." Said Lorelai, taking another bite of her Twinkie. 

"Let's all just… not jump on her, ok?" Said Luke, looking at Lorelai. "She sounded a lot calmer on the phone…so… maybe she's ready to listen." 

"Can I punch her again if you're wrong?" Asked Lorelai. 

"Again?" Said Jess, unable to keep him self from smiling. 

"Yeah, I got her right in the nose last time." She grinned. "Bam! Bitch went down!" She yelled, reenacting the punch. 

"Lorelai!" Said Luke, stunned. 

"Bam! Lorelai, Super Bitch!" She smiled at Jess who looked highly amused. 

"Ok, Rose McGowan, time to put those Twinkies away." Said Rory, getting up and taking them from Lorelai. 

"Hey, the baby needs the Twinkies!" Protested Lorelai. 

There was a knock at the door. 

"I'll get it." Sighed Jess, his smile fading as he got up and made his way to the door. 

He stood for a moment looking at the blurred figure through the glass. 

"Hey mom." He said, giving her a fake smile as he opened the door. 

"Don't 'hey mom' me! What the hell were you thinking?!" She shouted. "Was it your goal to give your mother a heart attack? Because if it was you succeeded." She said, hugging him tightly. 

"Oh course, because everything is about you." He mumbled. 

"What?" She asked, not hearing him. 

"I said, it's so great to see you!" He smiled. 

"Good!" She smiled back walking into the living room. 

"Hey Liz." Luke said standing up and hugging her for a moment. 

"Luke." She smiled slightly. "Lorelai." She said, turning and looking at the pajama-clad figure on the couch. 

"Hey." Lorelai nodded. "I would get up but I'm pregnant." 

"Don't mind her." Sighed Luke, shaking his head. 

"Is she really pregnant?" Asked Liz. 

"Yeah, but not so pregnant that she has to act like her ankles are swollen already." Said Rory. 

Lorelai stuck her tongue out at Rory and Rory returned the gesture. 

"And you are?" Frowned Liz. 

"Oh… Um…" Rory stood up and straightened her skirt. "Rory." 

"Rory? That would make you the young lady that my son is apparently besotted with?" She smiled slightly, turning to Jess for confirmation. 

"Besotted is an understatement, you should see the tattoo on his ass." Said Lorelai. 

"Ok, I think crazy pregnant lady and unfortunate father to be should take a little vacation to the kitchen now." Said Luke quickly, helping Lorelai up and pulling her out of the room. 

"I take it that was a joke?" Liz asked Jess. 

"Yeah. The tattoo bit anyway." He smiled slightly. 

Liz looked Rory up and down for a moment. 

"So… Luke told me you two have known each other a lot longer than anyone bothered to mention to me?" She said, raising an eyebrow at Jess as she sat on the couch. 

"Yeah." Jess smiled and looked at Rory. "Sorry about that." 

"And… you don't want to come home because…" 

"Of her. Yes." He nodded. 

"Jess, you're 17, do you really think you know what love is?" She sighed. 

"I would say yes, but something tells me you'd still doubt it." 

"I see you haven't lost the attitude." 

"Nope. It's alive and kicking." He smiled and she nodded. 

"And you put up with it?" She frowned at Rory. 

"She encourages it." Stated Jess. Rory hit him on the arm playfully. 

"I… know there's more to him than the attitude." She smiled slightly. 

"You must know him pretty well, most people don't get past it." Said Liz, looking at Jess. 

"I don't want most people to get past it." He said matter-of-factly. 

"And Rory's not most people anyway, right?" Liz asked knowingly. 

"Right." Nodded Jess. 

"Rory… can you give us a second?" Asked Liz politely. 

Rory nodded and left quickly, standing just outside to listen with Luke and Lorelai. Liz gestured for Jess to come and sit next to her. 

"Ok mister. Think you can drop the tough guy attitude for 5 minutes?" She asked. 

"I can try, you know, if it's for a special occasion." 

"Speak when spoken to?" She suggested. 

"Might be the safest idea." 

"Alright then." She looked around the room. "You're happy here?" 

"Yeah." He nodded. 

"Small town. Not the kind of place I pictured you feeling at home." 

"Stars Hollow isn't home to me. Rory is." He said honestly. 

Liz shook her head and smiled slightly. She looked down at her hands. 

"Maybe you do know a thing or two about love, huh kiddo?" 

"I believe that on my 13th Birthday, I requested that you not call me kiddo anymore." He smiled. "But yeah. I think I do know. I'm learning." 

"Learning?" She frowned slightly. 

"Rory's a good teacher." 

Liz nodded. 

"You two sound like a pretty nauseating couple." She said lightly. 

"Pride ourselves on it." 

"Really?" She laughed and looked around the room again, thinking. "Can you look me in the eyes and tell me you don't want to come home?" She asked. 

He looked her in the eyes. 

"I want to stay here with Rory." He said seriously. 

"That's not what I asked." She smiled. 

"It's what's you're getting." 

"So… I'm not the reason you don't want to come back." She asked. 

Jess looked at her. And took a deep breath. 

"No. It's not you." He said. He knew it wasn't entirely honest, but he also knew it was what she wanted to hear. 

"Ok." She nodded. "Lucas? Can you quit eaves dropping long enough to join us in here for a minute?" She called over her shoulder. 

Lorelai and Rory looked at Luke and then pushed him into the living room. 

"Uh… " He looked a little embarrassed. "Sure." 

Liz reached into her bag and pulled out some papers. 

"You should looks these over." She said, tears coming to her eyes. 

"What is this?" He frowned, flipping through the pages. 

"Custody papers." She said, wiping her eyes quickly. 

"Custody? Of Jess?" Asked Luke in shock. 

Lorelai and Rory stepped in to the room, shocked by what they were hearing. 

"I just… thought that if he was going to be living with you full time you should probably have custody." She said quietly. 

"Liz, this is a bit drastic." Sighed Luke. 

"It's only for 6 months." She said. "I thought you'd all be pleased." 

"No one's asking you to give up custody, Liz. We just wanted him to stay here." 

"Luke… it's ok. I did a lot of thinking since I came here." She looked at Lorelai. "I had a lot of things to think about. And you were right. I haven't been the best mother and Jess is better off here." She nodded, looking at Rory. 

"Mom…" Started Jess. 

"Look… just glance through the papers, and in the morning we'll go to the nearest courthouse and make it official." She laughed slightly. 

Luke looked at her and then at Jess. 

"I don't know…" He sighed, shaking his head. 

"Well, you know, Easter's a lonely time of year." Joked Liz, reaching out for the papers. 

Luke looked at his sister. 

"You really want do this?" He asked. 

"I think it's best for everyone." She nodded. 

Luke nodded and looked back down at the papers. No one said anything for a moment. 

"Uh… is there anywhere around here I could stay? A motel." Asked Liz. 

"I'll call Michel at the Inn, we can get you a room!" Said Lorelai quickly, picking up the phone. 

Luke looked at Rory and Jess who were staring at each other from opposite ends of the room. 

"Liz… do you want some coffee… or…?" Stared Luke. 

"Coffee would be good." She nodded quietly and stood up, following him into the kitchen. 

"So…" Started Jess when he and Rory were alone. 

"So…" She smiled softly, walking over to him. He stood up. "I heard… what you said." She blushed slightly. 

"I know." He smiled knowingly. 

"Did you mean it?" 

"Rory…. You know I did." He said, looking her in the eyes. She stepped forward and hugged him tightly. 

"So, it's over?" She asked. 

"It's over." 

"And you're staying." She looked up at him. 

"You're never getting rid of me." He smiled down at her. 

"Good." She kissed him. "Because I love you." She said quietly. 

He kissed her back and then looked her in the eyes. 

"Rory?" 

"Yeah?" She smiled contently, resting her head on his shoulder. 

"I wanna' marry you." He whispered. 

"You wanna' what?!" She exclaimed, pulling back suddenly. 

"I want to marry you." He smiled. 

"Yeah… I heard that… but…" She looked stunned. She checked to make sure no one else was listening. "Jess… we're 17!" She said, unable to stop herself laughing at the conversation they were having. 

"I know." He said, stepping closer to her again. 

"This is insane!" 

"If you say no then I'm just going to ask you again when we're 18." He smiled playfully. 

"And if I say no then as well?" She asked. 

"Then I'll ask you every year until you say yes." He said, putting his arms around her. "I'm not talking right now or anything. We can wait until after you're finished with college. Or... longer. If that's what's worrying you." 

"So, you're planning on us being together for a while?" She asked. 

"Yeah." He nodded. "Aren't you?" 

Rory looked at him thoughtfully. It was true, she hadn't thought about them ever not being a couple. She didn't see an end to what they had, or a reason to not want to be with him. 

"Yeah… I guess I am." She smiled back at him. 

He hugged her and kissed the top of her head. 

"Jess?" 

"Yeah?" 

"I wanna' marry you too." She smiled, surprised by the joy she felt hearing those words coming out of her mouth. 

Jess kissed her tenderly in response. She let her body melt into his. 

She thought about what he'd said to Liz, and for the first time she realized what that feeling inside her was. The feeling of comfort, of safety. The way she felt free and protected when he held her. He was everything she needed. He was home.


End file.
